1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an allergen-reducing composition that reduces the allergenicity of allergens such as mites or pollens or that imparts functions of reducing allergenicity to fibers or textiles.
2. Background Art
As the causes of allergic diseases such as asthma or atopic dermatitis, mites which live indoors, and pollens, pet hair, mold, and the like are known.
Mites appear in many forms, such as Cheyletidae or acarid mites. Among such mites, Dermatophagoides farinae and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus are considered to be major factors that induce mite allergies. Not only such mite bodies become allergenic factors that induce allergies, dead mites or mite feces also become potent allergens. Molds are likely to develop in damp places. When molds are inhaled into the lungs, they become allergens. Pollens of cedar, Japanese cypress, ragweed, timothy, zelkova, mugwort, vernal grass, and the like are known to become allergens.
At present, medication is mainly employed for treatment of allergy patients. The removal of allergens from the living environments of patients is an effective means for protecting patients from exposure to allergens.
While masks are used for preventing inhalation of cedar pollen or the like, pollen that has adhered to masks does not lose its allergenicity, and such pollen may be disadvantageously inhaled upon reentrainment thereof.
Meanwhile, indoor textiles, such as tatami mats, carpets, bedclothes, and curtains, are often hotbeds of mite growth. Examples of methods for removing allergens such as mites from such products include suctioning with the use of a vacuum cleaner, removal of mites with the use of an air purification system, and use of extremely dense covers for bedclothes. However, the amount of an allergen that can be removed by suctioning with the use of a vacuum cleaner is limited, and allergens may be disadvantageously reentrained at the time of disposal of a dust bag. Also, an air purification system can only remove airborne allergens. Further, dense covers for bedclothes can block internal allergens, but they cannot eliminate external allergens.
Examples of methods for reducing or eliminating allergenicity include methods involving the use of an agent for reducing allergens, such as tannic acid (JP Patent Publication (kokai) No. 61-44821 A (1986)) or tea extracts, hydroxyapatite, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, epigallocatechin gallate, gallic acid, and ester compounds of gallic acid and a C1-4 alcohol (JP Patent Publication (kokai) No. 6-279273 A (1994)). Such agent for reducing allergens disadvantageously develops color or becomes discolored over time when such agent is brought into contact with fibers or textiles. Also, agents for reducing allergens that use aromatic hydroxy compounds (JP Patent Publication (kokai) No. 2003-79756 A) or polysaccharide derivatives comprising, as main chains, cellulose ether or starch ether (JP Patent Publication (kokai) No. 2004-83844 A) are known. These agents, however, are poor in terms of reactivity with allergens, their effects to reduce allergens are insufficient, and they are not metabolized in vivo.
An N-acylated derivative of hydroxyproline is known to be used as an agent for preventing atopic dermatitis (WO 2004/039368), an agent for suppressing skin aging or an agent for improving skin quality (WO 00/51561), or a wound-treating agent (WO 2004/028531); however, whether or not such derivative directly acts on allergens to reduce allergenicity is not known.